One of the most common stumbling blocks that newbies who buy an iPhone face is transferring contacts from an old device to it. Difficulties in this procedure are imposed by two main factors:

1. Mismatch in SIM card sizes;
2. Apple’s manic desire to force the user to look at the world differently (including in performing this seemingly primitive operation).

There are hundreds of sites on the Internet describing dozens of ways to solve the problem of importing contacts. From primitive - non-working, to perversely - complex. We will analyze the simplest and effective ways how to transfer contacts to iPhone from various devices, and also how to synchronize contact book from cloud storages.

1. Transfer contacts to iPhone from SIM card

Basically a mismatch in size SIM cards not so much a big problem. You can use an adapter or a “technical” SIM. But this method has another significant disadvantage - imported contacts are cut off to approximately this form.

If this is not critical for you, then you can carry out such an import. If you still want to transfer your contact book “normally,” then choose the methods described below, depending on your previous phone.

1. First, on the old device, copy all contacts to the SIM card (it’s different on all devices, depending on the model and OS version)
2. Insert SIM into iPhone, go to settings>mail, addresses, calendars, then import SIM contacts . WITH iOS versions 8, the function of transferring contacts directly to cloud storage appeared. In the menu that appears, select iCloud(please note that iCloud account must be set up, see screenshots below).
3. Wait for the import to finish.

Setting up an iCloud account

2. Transfer contacts from Android to iPhone

Using Google service.

1. First, you need to get an account with Google. I think almost everything Android users already have one.
2. Now you need to upload all contacts from your Android device to Google contact. For this we follow the path Settings>Accounts>Google. Next, enter your account information and select synchronize. The duration of the operation depends on the number of contacts in your book.
3. After the contacts are safely placed in the Google service, we will upload them to the iPhone.
4. On an apple device, go to settings>mail, addresses, calendars>add account>other>cardDAV and enter the following settings:

• Server. Google.com
• User. Your E-mail in the mail Google view*@gmail.com
• Password
• Description. At your discretion

Using a .vcf file

1. On Android device open contacts then click context menu and select export contacts.

2. In the next submenu, click internal storage and select the location to export the file.

3. If your device has a file manager that can send this file by mail, then we send it. If not, then we transfer it via cable to the computer and from there we send it to our mailbox.

4. Now from the iPhone we go to the standard mail application, open the .vcf file in the received letter and click ready.

A must read for everyone who has just purchased or is planning to purchase an iPhone.

3. How to transfer contacts to iPhone from old devices (Nokia, Sony Ericsson, etc.)

To implement this method, you first need to create a special csv file (text format presentation of tabular data. Ideal for storing contacts). I think you understand that within the framework of this article it is impossible to describe the creation of such a file for all gadgets of the previous generation, I will only say that for Nokia phones you will need the Nokia PC Suite utility, and to Sony Ericsson, respectively, Sony Ericsson PC Suite. If you have a device from other companies, then Google can help.

Click import and wait for the process to complete.

Now you need to Google service transfer contacts to iPhone. To do this, we repeat exactly the steps described

4. Transfer contacts to iPhone from cloud services

This method is useful for those who store contacts in services: Outlook.com, Yahoo, Microsoft Exchange. First, let's export them from there:

— Microsoft Outlook(export Windows contact book)

• Open Outlook
• File>options>additionally>export.
• In the window that appears, click export to file>next
• Select the vCard format (.vcf) from the list
• Select the folder to export and click next.

-Windows Phone

• Go to https://people.live.com/
• Click on the tab People, then control And export
• Select the save folder and vCard format.

After you have exported your contacts to your computer, you need to send them to your iPhone.

— Via E-mail

We send the vCard to our mail, then open this letter through a regular mail iPhone app and click on the attached vcf file. I have already described this process in detail.

— Using iCloud

Go to icloud.com from your computer, enter your Apple ID information, then click on contacts, click on the gear icon and select vCard import.

In the window that appears, select the previously created vcf file. After synchronization, the contacts will be successfully transferred to the iPhone.

By the way, you don’t have to bother with exports and imports at all, but simply set up synchronization of contact data with cloud storages.

So we looked at the simplest and at the same time effective ways to transfer contacts to iPhone. I hope everything worked out for you the first time and without problems. If not, write in the comments, we’ll figure it out together.

A contact list is of great importance to many people, and its loss can lead to serious losses in business and personal relationships. In order to avoid such a risk, it is important to know how to save contacts in iCloud and prevent the loss of entries from the contact book.

If a phone breaks or is lost, in addition to financial difficulties, a person also loses critically important information, which is part of his life. These are photographs he took, notes, messages from friends and, of course, a list of contacts. You can protect yourself from such troubles by storing information in the cloud. For Apple product users best service Data storage is iCloud.

The basis cloud technology in storing information not on the device itself, but in another place. For the iPhone owner, this is Apple's servers: he just has to copy his data to them. When accessing the Internet from any device running iOS user gets access to his contacts and other information, that is, now it is saved in a safe place.

Transferring contacts to a cloud service

Typically, contacts are stored as a vCard - this is the standard for most mobile devices and applications.

Instructions on how to transfer contacts to iCloud from an Android phone via a computer:

1. Log in to the Google mail interface.
2. Click on the Gmail inscription and click on the tab in the menu that appears Сontacts.
3. Click on the item first "Additionally", and then click on "Export".
4. Mark the data to be copied, and select the format for saving as vCard..
5. After pressing the button "Export" is created contacts.vcf, it needs to be transferred to iCloud
6. Open Apple's cloud storage site in a browser icloud.com.
7. Import and then specify the path to the contacts.vcf file.

All that remains is to find out how to sync iPhone with iCloud.

Sync iPhone and iCloud

To fully take advantage of the Apple cloud, you need to understand how to sync contacts from iCloud to iPhone.

Here step-by-step instruction for this:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Open the iCloud dashboard and sign in using your Apple ID details.
3. Install the engine "Contacts" to the active position.
4. Click on "Merge."

The process is completed, now all contacts are visible to the user via iCloud from any device. If you choose to transfer other information, it will also end up in the cloud.

Let's figure out how to synchronize iPhone with iPhone via iCloud. You will need to create a backup copy of the data on one iPhone, and then load it on the other. The time it takes to complete this operation depends on the Internet connection speed of both devices.

Sometimes you need to synchronize your iPhone with your computer via iCloud.

Order:

• V apple menu go to " System Settings»;
• open iCloud window;
• enter Apple ID;
• mark the data you want to save.

Now you should learn how to disable iCloud synchronization on iPhone if necessary.

Need to:

• in the panel "Settings" on iPhone, click on the Apple ID;
• scroll down the window and click "Go out";
• in the tab that appears, enter the password to log into your account;
• press the button "Disable";
• set the switches to green for data to be saved and to white for data to be removed.
• click on "Exit";
• confirm your step-by-step actions.

How to Recover Contacts on iPhone

One of the main iCloud features– saving information if you lose your smartphone.

If this does happen, then here’s how to return contacts to iPhone from iCloud:

• in the settings of the new iPhone, go to the iCloud tab;
• activate checkbox Сontacts, and if it is already activated, turn it off and on again. If you are asked what to do with old data, you should delete it;
• connect iPhone and cloud by pressing the appropriate button;
• make sure that necessary files and the documents are moved where they need to be.

Now let's talk about how to download contacts from iCloud.

Step by step instructions for Mac:

• launch iCloud on your computer;
• in the action menu click on " Choose all» to copy all existing contacts;
• click on " Export vCard » to create a vcf file.

If necessary, it is converted to a CSV file. There are other ways to get contacts from iCloud.

Possible problems

Despite the fact that this cloud is one of the best, sometimes difficulties arise when working with contacts. For example, when two-factor authentication is enabled, iCloud often does not sync from a new iPhone. To solve the problem on the old device, the keychain is turned off, the device is rebooted and turned on again in the cloud settings.

One more common problem is the appearance of overlapping contacts. On Mac, this is resolved through the contact book settings. In the card tab, you need to click “Find duplicates”, and after they are found, combine them.

Fast, without losses, in different ways.

Tired of your iPhone, want to change your mobile platform, or do you need a second smartphone based on Android/Windows Phone? Today we will talk about how to quickly transfer contacts from iPhone to Android (or another OS). Four universal methods , which will help you export your contact book.

Related materials:

Method 1: iCloud.com

Any iPhone user definitely uses it account Apple ID, which is required both to download applications from the AppStore and to synchronize the contents of the device with a remote cloud service iCloud.

Note. Before you start exporting, make sure that contact synchronization is enabled in your settings. Open Settings - iCloud and turn on the slider next to the item Contacts.

For this method You will need a laptop or computer with a full browser (it is preferable to use Safari). The attached screenshots are placed in the order in which you want to export.

1. Open the iCloud website and log in using your account Apple entry ID.
2. From the suggested icons, select Contacts. Wait until your contact list is loaded.
3. Highlight any of the contacts (tap once), and then press the key combination CMD + A (for MAC) or CTRL + A (for Windows), thereby highlighting all contacts in the list.
4. Click on the gear in the lower left corner and select Export vCard.
5. The browser will automatically download a file with a VCF extension in which all your contacts are stored. Send this file to a new device and run it. Contacts will be exported to your smartphone's memory automatically.

This export option allows you to get a full offline copy of all your contacts in small file, which is compatible with both smartphones and mobile phones"previous years".

Method 2: My Contacts Backup

In the app store App Store There's an impressive range of apps that let you export contacts from your iPhone. Let's dwell on free version– utility My Contacts Backup(Download from App Store).

To export contacts, just follow a few simple steps:

1. Install the My Contacts Backup application and after launching allow access to contacts on iPhone.
2. Press the green Backup button and wait for the process to complete (it takes no more than a few seconds even with an impressive size of the contact book).
3. Press the key Email and send a letter with the attached VCF file to your email.
4. Download the VCF file on the new device from your own mail and run it. Contacts will be exported automatically.

You can also access the VCF file from the browser of the new device by enabling the server on the iPhone in the My Contacts Backup application ( Settings – Wi-Fi Managmenent) and opening the corresponding address ( in format: 192.168.1.100:8080 ). Please note that both smartphones are connected to one Wi-Fi network.

Method 3. iCloud + Dropbox

Reviewed Method 1 requires presence desktop computer or laptop, but if you wish, you can get by with the standard iOS Safari browser.

Another option for exporting contacts to a smartphone running under Android control, usage iCloud server And specialized application CardDAV.

1. Install on your Android smartphone free version applications CardDAV (

If you know how to save and restore contacts from iCloud, you can protect yourself from losing numbers the right people. If you accidentally delete or even erase the content of a recording from phone book will remain intact, so they can be returned to the mobile device’s memory.

Backup

You can check how iPhone manages to synchronize contacts on the official iCloud website. After authorization using your Apple ID, you will be taken to the cloud storage interface, which will have a “Contacts” section. It should display all entries from the iPhone phone book.

the Contacts folder is displayed on the Icloud website

iPhone, when connected to the Internet, will automatically sync data, including contacts, with iCloud storage. To create a full backup copy, several conditions must be met:

1. The device is connected to power.
2. The iPhone has access to Wi-Fi, which allows you to synchronize a large amount of information.
3. The phone is locked, meaning it is not currently in use.

If someone decides to delete phone book entries from the phone’s memory, then after some time after automatic (if configured) or manual synchronization, contacts from iCloud will also disappear. However, you can save them in another location or restore them using previous backups.

Saving contacts

If you accidentally erased important contact, disconnect your phone from the Internet to prevent synchronization from removing it from the cloud storage. Go to iCloud.com and make sure the recording was saved. You can transfer it from the cloud storage to another device.

Saving on Mac

If you have a Mac OS computer at hand, you can sync data from iCloud with it. It is important that the phone remains disconnected from the Internet, otherwise the contact will be deleted.

1. Go to OS X System Preferences.
2. Open the "iCloud" section. Enter Apple data ID to log in.
3. Launch the application " The address book" or "Contacts"(depending on the system version). Inside you will see all the contacts that you managed to synchronize with iCloud.

If you can't sync your data, go back to the iCloud section in system settings and make sure there is a checkmark next to the “Contacts” item.

Export from iCloud

Not on Windows preinstalled programs to work with Apple services, so to transfer contacts, you can use iCloud.com.

The saved file can later be uploaded back to cloud storage and synchronized with your phone.

Restoring contacts

If the contacts were deleted long enough that the iPhone managed to create a backup without them, then you will need older backups to restore the data from iCloud and transfer it back to the phone's memory.

After clicking on the link, a list will open with archived phone book entries that can be restored and transferred back to the iPhone. You need to remember when the data was deleted and simply restore the archive with the appropriate date.

Pay attention to the recovery features:

• The selected archive will completely replace the contents of the phone book on all devices with an activated account iCloud recording and synchronization enabled.
• Current contacts will be added to the archive and saved in cloud storage so that they can be restored if necessary.

Backups are not stored forever, so if the records were deleted a long time ago, it is unlikely that you will be able to transfer them back to the phone’s memory. But if you delete a contact and realize it in time, then there will be no problems with restoring it.

It is impossible to dispute the fact that the most important thing in any phone is not the number of pixels or the amount of memory, but the contact list. Of course, our favorite Apple company took good care to ensure that your iPhone contacts never disappear without a trace. Next, let's take a closer look at how to save contacts with iPhone different ways.

Saving contacts using iCloud

The first thing that always and everywhere saves any information from the iPhone and not only is iCloud program. The main thing is that export to iCloud is enabled in Settings.

To do this, go to Settings and open the “iCloud” tab.

In the new window, find “Contacts”, and if synchronization is turned off, turn it on.

The message “Contacts will be merged with iCloud” will pop up. Click "Merge" and your contacts will be safe.

Saving via iTunes

If you already have iCloud synchronization enabled, you will see a window like this.

In this case, nothing needs to be done. But if you want to transfer contacts to your computer via iTunes, you need to disable iCloud synchronization. This can be done in Settings. When iCloud for Contacts is disabled, a window like this will appear.

Now you need to check the box next to “Synchronize contacts with.” You will have the options to use Outlook or Windows Contacts. Once your selection is made, sync your iPhone.

Using special applications

Besides iTunes and others file managers, there are applications that will help you quickly transfer all your contacts to your computer. For example, the ExcelContacts application, which has a lot of advantages, will help you save contacts to your computer in an Excel file. This application also eliminates any possibility of deleting contacts, which sometimes occurs when connecting to iTunes.

So, download the ExcelContacts app on your phone.

When the app opens, select a storage style.

The program can even send Excel file to the address Email. Next, choose the method by which you can deliver contacts to your computer: via USB, Wi-Fi, or to email address(in the More… tab)

Here is also a video about this application:

Restoring contacts

If contacts were somehow deleted from the iPhone, then they can be restored quite easily. For this there is backup copy all information from the phone.

U different computers the backup is located in different places. So:

• On Mac:\Users\[username]\Library\ApplicationSupport\MobileSync\Backup\;
• for computers with Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\;
• for computers with Windows Vista: \Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\.

It will also help to save contacts iPhone program Backup Extractor. She has a paid and free modes, in the free one you can recover only 2 files. It is important to remember that these files can only be transferred to an iPhone on the same firmware on which these files were copied.